Please follow these links to stories about personal injury and accident cases in Austin and Central Texas.
Have You Been Injured in an Accident? Protect yourself with our "Texas Personal Injury Guide". Call 512-472-7799 for your free copy and a case evaluation.- 1 - 10
Austin Police detectives say 23-year-old Alfonso Hernandez Vizcallla will face charges of intoxication manslaughter and failing to stop and render aid in a fatal accident at Manor Road and Pecan Springs Road in East Austin August 11.
According to Austin CBS affiliate KEYE, police said Vizcalla’s Dodge pickup ran a stop sign and hit the driver's side of a passing car. The woman driving the Chevrolet Cavalier was taken to Brackenridge Hospital, where she died. It was the 40th traffic fatality in Austin this year.
Vizcalla and three passengers in the truck fled on foot before police later located the driver.
"It's very nice to quickly apprehend the person who left the scene of the collision,” Austin Police Corporal Derek Israel said. “We have a lot of ‘leaving-the-scene’ collisions in Austin, including ones that are fatal. When we're able to apprehend someone quickly, it's a very good day."
Witnesses to the accident should call the Austin Police Department at (512) 974-8212.
http://keyetv.com/topstories/local_story_224141248.html - 2 - 10Two-thirds of pickups, vans and sport-utility vehicles don't provide acceptable protection against whiplash in rear-end collisions, according to tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Some 54 models were rated "marginal" or "poor" by the Institute in tests that involved measurements of seats and head restraints and, in some cases, simulated rear-end collisions. - 3 - 10
Shannon Malloy, 30, of Denver, was in a car accident last week that separated her head from her spine, but not her body. Doctors are calling the condition an "internal decapitation." The condition has not paralyzed Malloy, but she now has trouble swallowing. Surgeons were able to stablize her head with a halo, but are unsure how long she will survive. - 4 - 10
A 23-year-old man died early this morning after being hit by a car east of Schulenburg in Fayette County, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Blake Edward Jaksa, of Weimar, was standing on the westbound shoulder of U.S. 90 when a Chevy pickup truck driven by Nicacio Paz Herrera, of Schulenburg, struck Jaksa at about a 1:30 a.m. Sunday, law enforcement officials said.
Jaksa died at the scene. Herrera, the driver, was arrested and charged with intoxication manslaughter and taken to the Fayette County jail, DPS officials said.
- 5 - 10| Lawsuit: Bus Company Negligent in Fatal Crash |
| Attorneys have filed a lawsuit on behalf of the families of two Texas middle school teachers killed in a bus crash in southern Mexico earlier this year. According to the lawsuit, Monterrey-based Grupo Senda Autotransporte negligently subjected passengers to risk of injury and failed to comply with promises to pay medical and funeral expenses for those injured or killed in the crash. The lawsuit seeks damages for pain, suffering, mental anguish, medical expenses and lost wages. Jeremy Roebuck, The Monitor 05/14/2009 |
| Read Article: http://www.themonitor.com/articles/saltillo-26554-bus-sue.html |
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Here's an interesting article about Texas Trucking Accidents. - 8 - 10
| In Motorcycle Injury, Trucker Liable for Waving On Other Driver, Jury Finds |
| A New Jersey jury has ordered a truck driver to pay $750,000 after finding that he contributed to an accident that injured a motorcyclist. During the trial, jurors heard testimony that the truck driver had waved another driver into traffic. As the other driver crossed a highway, he collided with a motorcycle ridden by the plaintiff. New Jersey law allows drivers to be held liable if they wave others into traffic. AP, Philadelphia Inquirer 04/18/2009 |
| Read Article: http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/new_jersey/20090418_ap_jurytruckerwhowavedincarliableincrash.html |
You can’t ask, “What was she thinking?” because she either didn’t or couldn’t.
KXAN News in Austin reported Sept. 5 police arrested Joyce Stookesberry for shoplifting at a Wal-Mart in San Marcos. When police reached her car, they found six adult and nine Chihuahua puppies inside. The dogs were soaked in their own urine and had no water to drink in mid-90-degree heat. The temperature on the inside was well over 100. One of the dogs died in the pressure-cooker but the rest somehow survived.
According to the Texas Penal Code, Statute 42.09, animal cruelty is defined as “the person intentionally or knowingly fails unreasonably to provide necessary food, care or shelter…abandons unreasonably an animal…transports or confines an animal in a cruel manner…kills, seriously injures, or administers poison to an animal without legal authority.
The statute defines "cruel manner" as that which causes or permits unjustified or unwarranted pain or suffering to the animal.
http://www.kxan.com/global/story.asp?s=7036115 - 10 - 10